Saudi International R4

Dominant DJ claims second Saudi triumph

February 04-07
Royal Greens G&CC, King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia
$3,500,000
Round 1, Round 2, Round 3


Saudi International 2021 R4 - Dominant DJ claims second Saudi triumph
(Getty Images)


Dustin Johnson earned his second Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers title in three years after holding off the chasing pack to secure a two-stroke victory at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club.


“It was a really good week. I felt like I played really solid every day. Gave myself a lot of chances. Didn’t putt quite as well as I’d like to, but obviously well enough to get a victory today.

“But conditions were tough, especially a couple of the days, but I felt like I struck it very well. I drove it really good. So I gave myself a ton of chances. But yeah, just obviously I’m very pleased with the win and very excited but I’m going to have to go home and work on the putting a bit I think.”



The World Number One started the day with a two-stroke advantage and he was pushed all the way by playing partner Victor Perez and compatriot Tony Finau, who briefly pulled level with Johnson on the back nine.

“I’ve enjoyed my time here,” said Finau. “A little bittersweet at the moment. I knew I could put some pressure on DJ going into 16 and made a couple bogeys unfortunately on 16 and 17. But I’ve enjoyed my week. The golf course is good. Enjoy playing on the European Tour when I have the opportunity and when my schedule allows, and yeah, I’ll definitely be back. But I think it was a positive week and one that I’ll continue to grow on.


“DJ is obviously a hell of a player, favourite going into this week. And it was good going toe-to-toe with him there kind of down the stretch and I don’t think it will be the last time we’re going to run into each other.

“I think more encouraging [than frustrating]. I was able to make some putts I feel like were big on the back nine, or early on the back nine that gave me a chance. I was floating three or four back going into 11 and knew I was running out of holes to make something happen. I was happy I was able to make a run there in the middle of the back nine.

“Unfortunately a couple bogeys coming in, but I know how well I’m playing and I’ve got to just keep positive. If I keep playing at a high level and give myself a chance to win, I just know it’s bound to happen. I think I’ve got to keep encouraged and again as I mentioned, it’s really, really early in the calendar year. I’m just happy that I’ve got a few solid rounds under my belt early in 2021.



The reigning Masters Champion closed out victory by responding to his only dropped shot of the day at the 16th with a birdie at the 17th to finish with a closing two under par round of 68 for a winning 15 under total.

“It’s tough to win on the European Tour, PGA TOUR, no matter what ranking you are,” said Johnson. “But yeah, obviously winning as Number One is definitely good, and obviously it gives me a little bit more of a lead. It gives me a lot of confidence going in for the rest of the year. Obviously we’re at the beginning of the year, so pleased with how I’m playing and looking forward to the rest of the year.

“I don’t get to play around the world as much as I’d like to, but yeah, it’s definitely nice to get a win [not on the PGA TOUR]. After Augusta, to get my first win again, obviously the game’s still in really good form and I’m really excited about the rest of the year.”

The triumph is Johnson’s first victory since winning his first Green Jacket at the Masters Tournament in November and continues his excellent record in Saudi Arabia after winning the maiden edition of the event in 2019 before finishing second to Graeme McDowell in 2020.



Finau marked his debut in Saudi Arabia with a tie for second place on 13 under par with England’s Justin Rose, whose joint runner-up result is his best European Tour finish since he won the 2018 Turkish Airlines Open. A shot further back in a tie for fourth place on 12 under par was Scotland’s Calum Hill, who secured his best European Tour result to date, and France’s Perez, whose challenge was effectively ended by a double bogey five on the 16th as he signed for a 69.

“That was the best golf I played in quite some time,” said Rose. “I won’t go crazy like Poults but I did not make one putt today; longest putt I made was seven feet for par on 16 so really clean round of golf. I didn’t putt poorly at all. Was quite aggressive with my putting. I was getting them to the hole and rolling them two- or three-foot by and kept making the ones coming back in the middle, so I felt confident in my putting all day but couldn’t get them to fall.

“I guess I was in decent position going into the final round in Dubai, seventh place and had a poor Sunday and drops you back into making it a terrible week. Nice to feel like I’ve come out of the three-week trip with a nice bit of positive momentum today.

“I’ve been working on a lot of stuff but really staying patient. I haven’t been playing my best golf and easy to get frustrated. I’ve kind of stayed with it, even though this three-week trip, it felt like it’s been slow going, and good golf hasn’t been rewarded and I’ve made silly mistakes. Momentum hasn’t quite been on my side yet. So to play a bogey-free 65 on a Sunday is something to kind of take and fuel the upcoming run.”




Pos.
Player
To Par
R1
R2
R3
R4
Total
1
Dustin Johnson
-15
67
64
66
68
265
T2
Tony Finau
-13
68
65
67
67
267
T2
Justin Rose
-13
68
66
68
65
267
T4
Calum Hill
-12
65
68
68
67
268
T4
Victor Perez
-12
67
66
66
69
268
T6
Ryan Fox
-11
65
65
71
68
269
T6
Tyrrell Hatton
-11
67
67
66
69
269
T6
Viktor Hovland
-11
68
66
67
68
269
T6
Rasmus Højgaard
-11
70
69
68
62
269
T10
George Coetzee
-10
66
70
65
69
270
T10
Thomas Pieters
-10
65
71
68
66
270
T12
Paul Casey
-9
69
68
67
67
271
T12
Sean Crocker
-9
68
72
65
66
271
T12
Sergio Garcia
-9
70
67
64
70
271
T12
David Horsey
-9
61
71
69
70
271
T12
Kurt Kitayama
-9
67
68
68
68
271
T12
Søren Kjeldsen
-9
69
66
65
71
271
T18
Bryson DeChambeau
-8
65
70
68
69
272
T18
Martin Kaymer
-8
67
68
66
71
272
T18
Ian Poulter
-8
67
69
67
69
272
T21
Laurie Canter
-7
66
68
68
71
273
T21
Stephen Gallacher
-7
62
68
72
71
273
T21
Kevin Na
-7
69
63
71
70
273
T21
Chris Paisley
-7
68
67
69
69
273
T21
Cormac Sharvin
-7
70
69
66
68
273
T26
Steven Brown
-6
68
67
73
66
274
T26
Tommy Fleetwood
-6
68
65
73
68
274
T26
Antoine Rozner
-6
67
67
72
68
274
T29
Maximilian Kieffer
-5
71
67
67
70
275
T29
Shane Lowry
-5
70
67
67
71
275
T29
Robert MacIntyre
-5
71
68
65
71
275
T29
Matthew Southgate
-5
70
67
65
73
275
T33
Rafa Cabrera Bello
-4
69
69
69
69
276
T33
Jamie Donaldson
-4
72
67
69
68
276
T33
Mikko Korhonen
-4
66
70
71
69
276
T33
Guido Migliozzi
-4
68
67
74
67
276
T33
Wilco Nienaber
-4
71
67
67
71
276
T33
Andy Sullivan
-4
66
66
68
76
276
T33
Jeff Winther
-4
67
73
66
70
276
T33
Ashun Wu
-4
68
68
68
72
276
T41
Kiradech Aphibarnrat
-3
73
67
68
69
277
T41
Dean Burmester
-3
69
71
68
69
277
T41
Justin Harding
-3
68
70
68
71
277
T41
Jason Kokrak
-3
70
67
69
71
277
T41
Joost Luiten
-3
67
66
75
69
277
T41
James Morrison
-3
67
73
67
70
277
T41
Matthias Schwab
-3
68
72
67
70
277
T41
Jhonattan Vegas
-3
66
74
68
69
277
T41
Justin Walters
-3
68
68
70
71
277
T50
Masahiro Kawamura
-2
66
71
68
73
278
T50
Julian Suri
-2
69
67
70
72
278
T50
Lee Westwood
-2
67
70
67
74
278
T53
Abraham Ancer
-1
71
69
70
69
279
T53
Christiaan Bezuidenhout
-1
68
69
69
73
279
T53
Thomas Detry
-1
67
70
71
71
279
T53
Ross Fisher
-1
69
70
68
72
279
T53
Takumi Kanaya
-1
67
71
69
72
279
T53
Pablo Larrazabal
-1
69
71
69
70
279
T53
Phil Mickelson
-1
68
67
72
72
279
T53
Matthieu Pavon
-1
68
72
67
72
279
T53
Bernd Wiesberger
-1
64
68
71
76
279
T53
Fabrizio Zanotti
-1
66
71
67
75
279
T63
Ross McGowan
E
68
72
73
67
280
T63
Wade Ormsby
E
71
69
69
71
280
T63
Danny Willett
E
67
72
71
70
280
T66
Graeme McDowell
1
70
70
73
68
281
T66
Patrick Reed
1
69
70
68
74
281
T66
Richard Sterne
1
69
70
68
74
281
T66
Oliver Wilson
1
68
72
69
72
281
70
Marcus Kinhult
2
65
68
74
75
282
71
Joachim B. Hansen
3
70
70
68
75
283
T72
Jazz Janewattananond
4
69
70
68
77
284
T72
Romain Langasque
4
69
67
77
71
284
T72
Michael Lorenzo-Vera
4
69
70
70
75
284
75
Julien Guerrier
7
70
70
73
74
287
76
David Law
8
70
70
69
79
288
9999
Raphael Jacquelin
6
76
61
137
9999
Raphael Jacquelin
6
76
61
137
CUT
Ignacio Elvira Mijares
1
71
70
141
CUT
Scott Hend
1
71
70
141
CUT
Lucas Herbert
1
70
71
141
CUT
David Howell
1
71
70
141
CUT
Francesco Laporta
1
70
71
141
CUT
Min Woo Lee
1
69
72
141
CUT
Haotong Li
1
65
76
141
CUT
David Lipsky
1
70
71
141
CUT
Edoardo Molinari
1
73
68
141
CUT
Haydn Porteous
1
70
71
141
CUT
Kalle Samooja
1
69
72
141
CUT
Shubhankar Sharma
1
69
72
141
CUT
Joel Stalter
1
69
72
141
CUT
Matt Wallace
1
73
68
141
CUT
Chris Wood
1
73
68
141
CUT
Harry Hall
2
70
72
142
CUT
Garrick Higgo
2
70
72
142
CUT
Brandon Stone
2
70
72
142
CUT
Adri Arnaus
3
69
74
143
CUT
Alexander Björk
3
72
71
143
CUT
Kristoffer Broberg
3
70
73
143
CUT
Jorge Campillo
3
69
74
143
CUT
John Catlin
3
69
74
143
CUT
Gavin Kyle Green
3
71
72
143
CUT
Miguel Angel Jiménez
3
72
71
143
CUT
Andrew Johnston
3
70
73
143
CUT
Zander Lombard
3
72
71
143
CUT
Adrian Otaegui
3
68
75
143
CUT
Aaron Rai
3
69
74
143
CUT
Jason Scrivener
3
75
68
143
CUT
Grant Forrest
4
69
75
144
CUT
Benjamin Hebert
4
71
73
144
CUT
Scott Jamieson
4
74
70
144
CUT
Alexander Levy
4
71
73
144
CUT
Richie Ramsay
4
73
71
144
CUT
Paul Waring
4
71
73
144
CUT
Nino Bertasio
5
75
70
145
CUT
Thomas Bjørn
5
74
71
145
CUT
David Drysdale
5
70
75
145
CUT
Ernie Els
5
74
71
145
CUT
Jordan Smith
5
71
74
145
CUT
Shergo Al Kurdi (a)
6
69
77
146
CUT
Ashley Chesters
6
70
76
146
CUT
Lorenzo Gagli
6
71
75
146
CUT
Eduard Rousaud (a)
6
72
74
146
CUT
Henrik Stenson
6
72
74
146
CUT
Othman Almulla
7
71
76
147
CUT
Paul Dunne
7
73
74
147
CUT
Renato Paratore
7
72
75
147
CUT
Tapio Pulkkanen
7
73
74
147
CUT
Alvaro Quiros
7
71
76
147
CUT
Sami Valimaki
7
73
74
147
CUT
Oliver Fisher
8
72
76
148
CUT
Jayden Schaper
8
74
74
148
CUT
Sebastian Soderberg
8
73
75
148
CUT
Richard McEvoy
11
73
78
151
CUT
Andrea Pavan
13
74
79
153
CUT
Marc Warren
13
74
79
153
CUT
Saud Al Sharif
18
80
78
158
CUT
Faisal Salhab (a)
18
77
81
158
WD
Victor Dubuisson
E
71
69
140
Updated: October 6, 2022